The Phantom of the Opera 1911 Leroux's original novel has been adapted into hundreds of different versions. From this, I will explore the ways in which the main story is relevant to modern audiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The story of the Phantom of the Opera reflects people's desires, fears, challenges, and anxieties. When examining the reasons for its popularity, we must consider and research the genre of the novel and the literature of the era in which it was produced. Most adaptations are classified as Gothic fiction, combining horror and romance. Gothic fiction was very popular in the 20th century when it was first produced. The story is set in a time when culture was on the path to social and artistic change, followed by industrial expansion. This change in social structure occurred in many parts of the world around the same time, which then helped the story appeal to a wider audience as it was so adaptable. The original Ghost is depicted as the living Death, slept in a coffin, has skeletal features, and is described as smelling of death in Leroux's novel. Clearly, the Phantom's entire existence as a ghost is a key connection to death that successfully reveals him to modern audiences. The Phantom's ability to kill and do whatever he wants is due to his mysterious and ingenious ways that make him desirable as well as terrifying. He is scary because he uses people to satisfy his wants and needs, then reminds them of their fate if they don't obey. A key example of this is that he controls Christine as a disguise, using his voice; he uses her as motivation to produce his best compositions, as well as controlling Christine and putting her into a trance-like state which affects his personal life, as he wants her all to himself. His intelligence, personality, talents and way of thinking make him desirable. He is in full control of the opera house and all beings within it. This shows the audience that he is dominant and powerful. Erik's being in complete control is one of his key traits that draws audiences to the story and has been persistent across all versions and adaptations of the novel. Ignoring the silent film version, more modern versions of the novel show a history of the Phantom before his meeting with Christine. Naturally, he is perceived as a child in need of love and affection, who receives abuse from people who judge him and make fun of his deformity, his appearance makes it difficult for his family to love him. This gives him the justice of receiving sympathy and compassion from the audience. Living in denial he covers his face which he believes is cursed. He is also rejecting his own identity, which reflects on others as no one calls him by his real name. “If I am the Ghost, it is because the hatred of man has made me so” from the 1925 film. Keep in mind: this is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Like the adaptations and As the versions of the novel become more updated, we see that the Phantom is displayed less monstrous and more like a victim. Some versions state that he wasn't born deformed but had acid thrown on him (1943 by Arthur Lubin), which definitely makes him more of a victim than a monster looking at previous versions. Unfortunately, acid attacks still occur in today's society. In 2009 Katie Piper suffered an acid attack staged by her abusive partner. This connects the Phantom of the Opera to modern audiences just as the Phantom is “a subject).”